I’d been commuting by Tree most of the summer, albeit my actual commute is 8 blocks from door to door. I haven’t purchased a bus pass in three months. Oh, and having a bike that fits your body properly is a joy that I have not fully realized until this summer.

Camping

When my extended family had decided to go on a camping trip to Porpoise Bay Provincial Park, I decided to cycle there. I consulted a few other shop members about the validity of such a ride and what I should take along. It seemed easily do-able and with proper gear not huge epic ordeal. My brother was packing the tent in his car, so all I need was my clothing for the weekend. I received a crash course on how to change a flat and borrowed a pannier from Darcy, then hit the road.

I approached Lions Gate Bridge and really enjoyed the extra space offered by renovations to the bridge in 2001. The Tree’s longer frame offered more extra stability and a more enjoyable ride. It was my first trip with a proper touring bike and it made the ride so much more comfortable.

I just took the route pretty easy with no real time line; if there wasn’t room to pass a large lumbering truck I just didn’t pass it. Without much effort I had reached Dundarave Village, the last retail district of West Vancouver, before the hills of Marine Drive and Horseshoe Bay.
It was at that point that  Ian Armstrong pulled up beside me. He is a high school instructor at Rockridge Secondary in West Vancouver and happened to be traveling to Horseshoe Bay as well.

He asked how much I loved my disc brakes on my Tree and where I was headed.

“I love my disc brakes! They are so reliable. I’m headed to Horseshoe Bay and the ferry,” I said.
“I’m headed there myself. If you stick with me you’ll hit the 4:30 ferry,” said Ian as we reached our first hill.

This is what I love about cycling. How hard would this be in a vehicle?  I really saw how well my Tree performed as a touring cycle. I have to thank Ian for his patience. All he had was a small backpack on a route he has done all summer and I was just trying to keep up with two full panniers as we hit the larger hills of Marine Drive.

Polite Drivers

I found West Vancouver drivers, especially the ones on Marine Drive, some of the kindest in the Lower Mainland. I was worried about how large the shoulders were and the space drivers gave. I can honestly say the drivers of Marine Drive were as pleasant as the view.

This was my first trip with panniers. It felt much like having someone push you downhill, the bags kinda directed where the rear wheel wanted to go. On some hills I took more of a conservative approach to the sweeping corners. The Tree was a solid stable ride and the geometry helped me ride with the load. My comfort levels gained with every downward leg of the trip I took.

When we reached Glen Eagles Community Centre my legs were burning and Ian was kicking my butt up that last hill. I was glad to see Horseshoe Bay and with his help actually arrived about half an hour ahead of a scheduled ferry departure.

I decided to take the bus from Gibsons to Sechelt due to the weekend traffic coming for the Festival of the Written Arts and because they haven’t improved the tiny shoulders of Highway 101 since I was a kid. The road is much like Marine Drive in terms of condition but has 10 times the traffic as it is the only connection between the two communities.

I arrived in Sechelt by transit bus and jumped on my bike for the last 5 kms to Porpoise Bay Park. My family had reserved a campsite, but I also checked out the cyclist campground which is a steal at just 10 dollars a night and has bike racks beside your picnic table.

The provincial park is also home to Angus Creek, a salmon spawning stream. The surroundings of second growth Douglas Fir and Western Cedar made an awesome background for some Tree portraits.

On the Road Home

On the ride home I was much more comfortable with the bags on the back of the Tree. After climbing the Horseshoe Bay hill, which was the hardest of the bunch, I used the extra weight as more momentum in climbing that next hill and really found a groove. In no time I was back crossing Lions Gate Bridge and on the Adanac bike way heading home.

It was a really great ride and I had perfect weather both ways. I would like to try the full distance to Sechelt next time, and hopefully that old Sunshine Coast Highway will be a little better when I do . . .

Category: uncategorized

Tags: bicycle, Dundarave, Horseshoe Bay, Marine Drive, Sunshine Coast, touring, West Vancouver

Our major goals at Bikes on the Drive (BOTD) is advocacy, education and awareness of bike commuting, bike culture and overall community building in the East Vancouver community itself. For any business owner it just makes sense to be an active, contributing member of the local community.

One way that we do this is through supporting Global Agents for Change. This registered non-profit was founded in January 2007 by a group of young professionals, university students and social change agents from Vancouver, Canada.

During one of the many conversations ilan has with his customers, he heard about Global AFC in 2007. Being the sociable and knowledgeable guy that ilan is, (yes he did pay me to say that), ilan offered some tour consulting to new riders who might be going down in the group.

“I invited the senior people of the group down to the shop and I gave them the full run down on touring bikes; The challenges people have with bags, peddles, shoes, living out of a bike for a month,”

What we found out was that it was the first time they were given this type of knowledge and information, which you really only find out by doing or talking to someone who has.

The result was that they booked the entire team of riders to come in and talk with ilan.

It was also a complete coincidence for ilan, a former financial planner who dealt in-risk management and lending and now manages  BOTD, to find a charity that dealt in touring, cycling and microcredit lending to break the cycle of poverty in developing and third world countries. It’s a good fit to say the least.

Since that time we have offered both education for riders on repairs and maintenance of their bikes while on a trip, along with a safety briefing and equipment knowledge.

The shop also sells gear to the riders at cost to the shop.

“We had sold really strong touring packages worth up to $3,000 for $1,800 and donating all the labour associated with bikes and components,” said ilan.

With both a Mexico and European tour with a total of 71 riders, the shop was a little packed this spring and the boys (and Jaimie) were a little busy in preparing a number of bikes for the trip.

Two additional things happened this year: One with the launch of The Tree commuting and touring cycle first aid attendant, Agent Bugsy Delesalle purchased one of the first BOTD Tree by Devinci after talking with Autumn, and had it loaded for bare as she left Vancouver for Mexico: Two, ilan had gone a step further and approached the supplier and manufacturers of components and equipment for the BOTD and told them about Global AFG. As a result Brodie, Arkel, Avid, Tubus and Shimano either offered at cost or at a discount on top of whatever BOTD was offering the riders.

And while according to the official Global AFC blog, Bugsy offically hates hills. Apparently she is doing fine and heading to Seattle as we speak.

Category: Advocacy, Events

Tags: Advocacy, Agent for Change, bicycle, Canadian, charity, commercial drive, Devinci, Global, microcredit, non-profit, sustainable, touring, Tree bike